System and method for communicating audio files

ABSTRACT

A system and method for organizing one or more audio files. One or more original files are converted into the one or more audio files. The one or more original files are associated with the one or more audio files. The one or more audio files are accessed in response to a request to access the one or more audio files. The one or more audio files are communicated through an audio interface in response to a request to access the one or more audio files.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.13/545,417 filed on Jul. 10, 2012 entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FORCREATING AUDIO FILES which is a Continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/214,347 now U.S. Pat. No. 8,296,150, filed on Aug. 22, 2011entitled SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR AUDIO CONTENT NAVIGATION which is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/637,512, filed Dec.14, 2009, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,046,229, issued Oct. 25, 2011, which is aContinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/637,970, filed Aug.8, 2003, now U.S. Pat. No. 7,653,544, issued Jan. 26, 2010, which claimsthe benefit of U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/399,892, filedJul. 31, 2002. The entire contents of which are hereby incorporated byreference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates generally to data processing for the purpose ofnavigating a computer network. More particularly, this invention relatesto a method and apparatus for creating audible websites and enablingvisually-impaired users to access and navigate them by keystroke.

BACKGROUND

Websites and many other computer files are created with the assumptionthat those who are using the files can see the file content on acomputer monitor. Because websites are developed with the assumptionthat users can see, the sites do not convey much content audibly, nor dothe sites convey navigation architecture, such as menus and navigationbars, audibly. The result is that visually-impaired users havedifficulty using such websites.

Prior art systems have been developed to help visually-impaired usersuse websites, but these systems often require software and hardware tobe installed at the user's computer. Many of these systems simply usescreen reading technology alone or in combination with print magnifyingsoftware applications. The systems have shown to be costly, unwieldy,and inconvenient. Furthermore, because such technology is installed onthe user's computer, visually-impaired users cannot effectively useconventional computer files anywhere except at their own computers. As aconsequence, websites and other computer files are often inaccessible tovisually-impaired user anywhere except at home.

Several prior art systems have been developed to overcome this problemby enabling visually-impaired users to access some computer informationusing any touchtone telephone. In essence, a caller accesses a specialcomputer by telephone. The computer has access to computer files thatcontain audio components, which can be played back though the telephoneto the user. For example, a text file that has been translated bysynthetic speech software into an audio file can be played back to theuser over the telephone. Some systems access audio files that havealready been translated; some translate text-to-speech on the fly uponthe user's command. To control which files are played, the user pressesthe keys on the touchtone keypad to send a sound that instructs thecomputer which audio file to play.

Unfortunately, these systems also have drawbacks. Large files or thosehaving multiple nesting layers turn the system into a giant automatedvoice response system, which is difficult to navigate and often veryfrustrating. Typically only text is played back to the user. Graphics,music, images and navigation systems like those on a website are not.Furthermore, the metallic voice of the computer-generated speech doesnot convey meaning with inflection like a human does, and is tedious tolisten to, especially for significant volumes of information.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a method andapparatus to translate computer files which have previously been createdfor the sighted user, particularly websites, into audio files. It is afurther object to create audio files that reflect the entirety of theoriginal file, incorporating non-text content such as graphics, music,images and navigation systems like those on a website. It is anotherobject of this invention to provide a method and apparatus to accessaudio files using any conventional computer system, particularly oneconnected to the Internet, by locating the audio files on a centralcomputer such as a server. It is another object of this invention toprovide a keystroke navigation system to navigate audio files.

SUMMARY

One embodiment provides a system and method for communicating one ormore audio files. One or more original files may be converted into theone or more audio files. The one or more original files may beassociated with the one or more audio files. The one or more audio filesmay be accessed in response to a request to access the one or more audiofiles. The one or more audio files may be communicated through an audiointerface in response to a request to access the one or more audiofiles.

Another embodiment provides a server for communicating audio content.The server is in communication with a network. The server may host anoriginal website. The server may include a program operable to convertone or more original files of one or more of the number of originalwebsites into the one or more audio files, associate the one or moreoriginal files with the one or more audio files, and communicate the oneor more audio files through an audio interface in response to a requestto access the one or more audio files.

Yet another embodiment provides a system for communicating an audiowebsite. The system may include a server in communication with thecomputer of a user through a network. The server may be configured to(a) convert the one or more original files of the original website intoaudio files, (b) associate the one or more original files with the oneor more audio files, (c) indicate that the one or more original filesare available as the audio files; and (d) communicate the audio files tothe computer in response to a selection from a user to access the audiofiles.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 illustrates the Internet.

FIG. 2 illustrates a computer network.

FIG. 3 illustrates a home page of an original website.

FIG. 4 illustrates the hierarchy of pages in a website.

FIG. 5 illustrates the keyboard navigation system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The present invention involves creating audio files from files createdoriginally for sighted users. Files created originally for primarilysighted-users are referred to herein as original files. An organizedcollection of original files is referred to herein as an originalwebsite. The invention further involves assigning a hierarchy andnavigation system to the audio files based on the original websitedesign; accessing the audio files; and navigating the audio files.

Audio files for the present invention are created by converting text,images, sound and other rich media content of the original files intoaudio files through a site analysis process. A live human reads the textof the original file and the speech is recorded. The human alsodescribes non-text file content and file navigation options aloud andthis speech is recorded. Non-speech content, such as music or soundeffects, is also recorded, and these various audio components are placedinto one or more files. Any type of content—be it FLASH, HTML, XML,.NET, JAVA, or streaming video—can be described audibly in words, musicor other sounds, and can be incorporated into the audio files. Ahierarchy is assigned to each audio file based on the original computerfile design such that when the audio file is played back through anaudio interface, sound is given forth. The user hears substantially allof the content of the file and can navigate within the file byresponding to the audible navigation clues.

The audio files are accessed via a user's computer. To implement thesystem, a small program is installed in an original file which will playan audible tone or other sound upon opening the file, thereby indicatingthat the file is accessible with the present invention. Upon hearing thesound, the user indicates to the computer to open the associated audiofile. The content of the audio file is played though an audio interface,which may be incorporated into the user's computer or a standalonedevice.

The user navigates the audio files using a keystroke navigation system.Unlike the touchtone telephone systems which require an audio inputdevice, the present system utilized toneless navigation.

One advantage of the present invention over prior art is that nospecialized software or hardware needs to be installed on the user'scomputer because the audio files are installed on remote computers andaccessed over a network. This type of application is commonly referredto as a server-side application, to differentiate it over a client-side,or user, application. The preferred embodiment of the present inventionis applied to original web pages hosted on remote computers of a globalcomputer network, namely the Internet. FIG. 1 illustrates a plurality ofusers' computers, indicated as user, . . . user_(x), communicate witheach other through remote computers networked together to form theInternet. Typically, users connect to the Internet via an Internetservice provider, abbreviated in FIG. 1 as ISP. However, the presentinvention may also be used for smaller computer networks, such as localarea or wide area networks. FIG. 2 illustrates such a network, where aplurality of users' computers, 21, 22, 23 and 24 communicate through aserver 25. In this example, each users' computers has a standalone audiointerface 26 to play audio files. Alternatively, the audio interfacecould be incorporated into the users' computers.

In the preferred embodiment, an original website is converted to anaudible website. Each file, or page, of the original website isconverted to a separate audio file, or audio page. The collection ofassociated audio files resides on a remote computer or server, andcreates the audible website. For example, FIG. 3 illustrates the homepage 30 of an original website. A live human reads aloud the textcontent 31 of the home page 30 and the speech is recorded into an audiofile. The human says aloud the menu options 32, 33, 34, 35, 36 which are“LOG IN”, “PRODUCTS”, “SHOWCASE”, “WHAT'S NEW”, and “ABOUT US”,respectively, that are visible on the original website. This speech isalso recorded.

In a similar fashion, a live human reads aloud the text content and menuoptions of other files in the original website and the speech isrecorded into audio files. In this example, key 1 is assigned to menuoption 32, LOG IN; key 2 is assigned to menu option 33, PRODUCTS; key 3is assigned to menu option 34, SHOWCASE; key 4 is assigned to menuoption 35, WHAT'S NEW; key 5 is assigned to menu option 36, ABOUT US.Other visual components of the original website may also be described inspeech, such as images or colors of the website, and recorded into oneor more audio files. Non-visual components may also be recorded into theaudio files, such as music or sound effects.

FIG. 4 shows a hierarchy of the original files which form the originalwebsite 40. Menu option 32 will lead to the user to file 42, which inturn leads to the files 42, . . . _(v). Menu option 33 will lead to theuser to file 43, which in turn leads to the files 43, . . . _(iii). Menuoption 34 will lead to the user to file 44, which in turn leads to thefiles 44 . . . _(iv) and etcetera in similar fashion for all theoriginal files of the original website. The collection of audio fileswill follow a hierarchy substantially similar to that shown in FIG. 4 toform an audible website which is described audibly in its entirety.

In the preferred embodiment, a small software program is installed onthe home page of an original website, which plays a tone upon a user'svisit indicating that the website is accessible with the presentinvention. Upon hearing the tone, a user presses a key on his keyboard,preferably the “1” key, and enters the audible website. The originalwebsite may close or remain open. After pressing the “1” key, the usernavigates the audible website using keystroke command system. Audiblenarration is played through an audio interface at the user's computer,playing text and menus and indicating which keystrokes to press tolisten to the other audio web files with in the audible website. Userscan navigate website menus, fast forward and rewind content, and movefrom website to website without visual clues.

In the preferred embodiment, the device for instructing the computerwhich audio file to access is a keyboard having at least eighteen keys.The keys include ten numbered menu-option keys, four directional arrowkeys, a space bar, a home key, and two keys for volume adjustment. Thevolume keys may be left and right bracket keys. See FIG. 5. Preferablythe navigation system is standard across all participating websites andthe keys function as follows:

the keys numbered 1 though 9 select associated menu options 51;

the key numbered 0 selects help 52;

the up arrow selects forward navigation 53;

the down arrow selects backward navigation 54;

the right arrow key selects the next menu option 55;

the left arrow key selects the previous menu option 56;

the spacebar repeats the audio track 57;

the home key selects the main menu 58;

the right bracket key increases the volume of the audible website 59;

the left bracket key decreases the volume of the audible website 60.

The keys may be arranged in clusters as shown in FIG. 5., using astandard numeric 10-key pad layout, or use alternative layouts such as atypewriter keyboard layout or numeric telephone keypad layout. Othertypes of devices may be used to instruct computer navigation. Forexample, for users who are not dexterous, a chin switch or asip-and-puff tube can be used in place of a keyboard to navigate theaudible websites.

While there has been illustrated and described what is at presentconsidered to be the preferred embodiment of the present invention, itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes andmodifications may be made and equivalents may be substituted forelements thereof without departing from the true scope of the invention.Therefore, it is intended that this invention not be limited to theparticular embodiment disclosed, but that the invention will include allembodiments falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for communicating one or more audiofiles, the method comprising: converting one or more original files intothe one or more audio files; associating the one or more original fileswith the one or more audio files; accessing the one or more audio filesin response to a request to access the one or more audio files; andcommunicating the one or more audio files through an audio interface inresponse to the request to access the one or more audio files.
 2. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: indicating that the one or moreaudio files are associated with the one or more original files.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: converting text, images, sound,and rich media content of the one or more original files into the one ormore audio files.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the one or moreoriginal files include a hierarchy, and wherein the hierarchy is appliedto the one or more audio files.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein a usergenerates the request in response to receiving audible navigation cluesassociated with the one or more audio files.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more audio files are communicated through a networkto the audio interface of a computing device.
 7. The method of claim 1,further comprising: providing keystroke navigation for navigating theone or more audio files associated with the one or more original files.8. The method of claim 7, wherein a plurality of commands for navigatingthe one or more audio files utilizing keystroke navigation areassociated with a plurality of keys of a computing device.
 9. The methodof claim 1, wherein the one or more original files are converted priorto a request for the one or more audio files.
 10. The method of claim 1,wherein the one or more original files form an original website, andwherein the one or more audio files form an audible website
 11. A serverfor communicating audio content, the server comprising: the server is incommunication with a network, the server hosts an original website, theserver includes a program operable to: convert one or more originalfiles of one the original website into the one or more audio files;associate the one or more original files with the one or more audiofiles; communicate the one or more audio files through an audiointerface in response to a request to access the one or more audiofiles.
 12. The server of claim 11, wherein the program is furtheroperable to: indicate that the one or more original files are availableas the one or more audio files.
 13. The server of claim 11, wherein theprogram is further operable to: convert visual and non-visual contentfrom the one or more original files into the one or more audio files.14. The server of claim 11, wherein the program is further operable to:communicate audible navigation clues indicating how to navigate the oneor more audio files utilizing keystroke navigation.
 15. The server ofclaim 11, wherein the one or more audio files are created prior to therequest for the one or more audio files.
 16. The server of claim 11,wherein the program is further operable to: hierarchically organize theone or more audio files associated with the one or more original filesof the original website.
 17. A system for communicating audio content,the system comprising: a server in communication with a computer of auser through a network, and wherein the server is configured to (a)convert one or more original files into one or more audio files, (b)associate the one or more original files with the one or more audiofiles, (c) indicate that the one or more original files are available asthe audio files; and (d) communicate the audio files to the computer inresponse to a selection from a user to access the audio files.
 18. Thesystem of claim 17, wherein the audio files are communicated to an audiointerface of the computer for playback to the user, wherein keystrokenavigation is utilized to navigate the one or more audio files utilizingthe selection.
 19. The system of claim 16, wherein the one or moreoriginal files include a hierarchy, wherein the hierarchy is applied tothe one or more audio files, wherein the one or more original files areassociated with an original website, and wherein the one or more audiofiles are associated with an audio website and are converted prior to auser requesting the one or more audio files.
 20. The system of claim 16,wherein the user navigates the one or more audio files hierarchicallyassociated with the one or more original files utilizing keystrokenavigation, and wherein a plurality of commands for navigating the oneor more audio files utilizing the keystroke navigation are associatedwith a plurality of user inputs.